Another Path
by MaryRose
Summary: The first full length G Rhade and Beka shipper fic. Spoilers for TUM. These two don't go down the romance road easily, that's for sure.
1. Default Chapter

Beka was steamed. How dare he? He had no right. "Gaheris, you let me out right now!" She pounded on the door of her quarters. "Andromeda, let me out!"

Andromeda popped up. "I'm sorry Beka, but the Commander has ordered me to keep you here until further notice." She blinked out.

"Further notice? What the hell does that mean?" She was furious. She'd left some time ago, only coming back when it appeared that the Perseids had found a way to cure Harper. And it had worked. Beka'd only planned to stay around long enough to make sure he was fully recovered from the operation and then leave. But Gaheris was taking that decision out of her hands. Of course she'd been stupid to even be bunking in her old quarters anyway but....

The door slid open and he entered. Beka was going to make a run for it but the door closed pretty fast. "Hi, Beka. I can see you're furious."

"That doesn't even come close to describing how I feel. What gives you the right to hold me here? I told you we were over."

He nodded. "Yes, you did. And I let you go. And it was a mistake. A mistake that can be corrected easily, unlike others. This is my second chance and I'm not making that mistake again. I love you, Beka."

"And you assume I love you too. I don't." She didn't know how she'd expected him to react. Not the way that he did, for sure. He laughed.

"Nice try but you're lying. I can see it in your eyes. He grinned. "It's O.K. I love spirited women. It's almost like you're Neitzschean. Speaking of which, Harper's cure has done a lot for my goal. The news is out and that plus the fact that we're the only hope against the Magog World Ship is...well....let's just say things have a way of working out. On all counts. Enjoy your stay, Beka." Before she could do anything, he was gone, leaving her locked in. And very unhappy.


	2. Chapter 2

O.K. I forgot my disclaimer in the first chapter. So, here it is. I don't own Andromeda or anything connected with it. If I did, the show never would have changed it's direction and we would still have the GOOD Andromeda that we started out with i.e. Purple Trance, Tyr and a Dylan that is not a perfect god and sleeping with the bimbo of the week. O.K. That's it. Now here's the next chapter.

Rhade strolled down towards Harper's quarters. Andromeda popped up. "I admit I don't know much about courtship, either human or Neitzschean but this hardly seems likely to endear her to you."

"Perhaps. But I have no choice. I have to do it."

"You have to do it? You mean like you had to kill Captain Hunt?"

That stopped him. "That was a mistake that can't be fixed. And I have to live with it. Which I can. Because I'm trying to make up for it."

"You can't. You can never give back the 300 years."

"True but things are starting to go my way. You can't deny that."

"No, I can't. Getting back to the original question--"

"I can't let her go again. It's like fate threw her back to me and the ball's in my court. I have to play it out. No matter what." He started walking again.

Beka was pacing. "I have to get out of here. Damn it, Gaheris." She flopped down on the bed. "He can't do this. I've got to eat. I could starve to death, you know." As if in answer the door opened just enough for a bot to shove a tray of food in and then it closed again. Wonderful. She thought about not eating, going on a hunger strike or something but that was stupid. This whole situation was stupid. Gaheris was nothing if not pragmatic. Simply put, it shouldn't matter if she'd left or not as long as the goal was still in sight. And it was. So why?

'Because he loves me.' How much did that matter in the long run? It didn't. 'Except to you, Valentine. It matters to you.'

That annoying little voice in her head. "SHUT UP!"

Andromeda popped up. "Are you all right?"

"No, I'm not. You get Geharis here right away. I want to talk to him. NOW!"


	3. Chapter 3

Rhade entered Harper's quarters. "How you doing?"

Harper turned. "Horrible. Boss, I'm fine. I want to get back to my jobs. O.K. I've had enough of this."

"You're not going to make me sorry I agreed to let you continue your recovery in your quarters. Do I have to send you back to Medical? I can, you know.'

Harper sighed. "But Boss, I'm so bored. I really need--."

"You really need bed rest. It was a serious thing, Harper. You need to recover. So stay in bed."

"Fine. I'm not happy, though."

"Just then Andromeda popped up. "Captain, Beka is demanding to se you. She's quite agitated."

"I'll bet." Rhade allowed himself a small smile.

"What did you do to Beka?" Harper was wide-eyed.

"Oh, nothing. Just a little thing like locking her in her quarters. " Harper's eyes bugged out. "I can't let her leave again. She was going to you know, as soon as she made sure you'd be O.K. I love her and I don't want her to go. Do you?" Harper shook his head. "Then we have to do whatever's necessary. In the meantime, I'd better deal with her." He left.

Beka was trying to retain a semblance of calm. Then a voice came from outside the door. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah. Get your cowardly ass in here right now."

A pause. "No. I know what you're trying to do and it won't work. You need time, Beka and this is the best place for you."

"You don't seriously believe that, Gaheris"

"Whether I do or not is irrelevant. This is the way it is. I want to sweep you up in my arms and kiss you. Right now you don't want that. Fine, I can wait because whatever happens and however long it takes, I love you. That won't change." There was sadness in his voice. "Bye for now." He walked away.

Beka stood still in the middle of the room. Then she walked to her bed and sank down on it. He meant every word. She was stuck here. How did she feel about that? She honestly didn't know. She was feeling...well; alone, angry, fear, confusion and...yes...love. She did love him, damn it! Was that good or bad? Who knew? Suddenly Beka burst into tears.


	4. Chapter 4

Rhade saw the Perseid scientists Hohne and Reekeb off. "Thank you both for all you have done for my engineer", Rhade said.

"Oh, it was our pleasure. Just imagine the knowledge that it all brought us." Hohne was very happy.

"Well, thank you again." Rhade saw them off. Then he started back to his office.

Andromeda popped up. "Now what?"

"We just go on doing what we were doing."

"I was not speaking of our mission. I was speaking of a certain someone who is currently not happy with you right now."

"Yes, I think saying she's unhappy with me is quite an understatement."

"And?"

"I wait. I can't think of anything else to do at the moment."

Beka stopped crying. Having already decided that going on a hunger strike was pointlless, she took the tray and began to eat. And think. 'O.K. I'll try and be calm. I'll act the way he wants me too. No, that won't work. I can't escape in the Maru anyway because I'd bet Andromeda wouldn't let me. So what...I'll try and keep a lid on my temper. If I can then maybe I can reason with him.'

Having finished, she lay on her bunk, staring at the ceiling. It was boring. There weren't even any holo-novels to keep her entertained. "Andromeda, do you think that someone might be able to fetch me my holo-novels, so I'm not bored?"

Andromeda popped up. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

This was quite a change from her earlier demeanour. It seemed suspicious. She reported the request to the captain. He smiled. "She's trying to play the part of a good, obedient and cooperative person. Wonderful. Little does she know whatever she tries only makes me love her more. But she shouldn't be bored. Get her novels for her." Andromeda winked out. There was a knock on his door. "Come in."

It was Trance. "Unh, sir, Harper just told me about....Are you sure it's a good idea?"

No. But it will never, ever be worse then the first mistake I made. I can live with it. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try again.'

Trance nodded. "All righty, then. Just checking."


	5. Chapter 5

As Beka alternated between steaming and trying to be calm Rhade went about his work of trying to unite the Commonwealth and to deal with the threat of the Worldship. And also dealing with his unusual crew. "Captain, Harper's up again", Andromeda informed him.

Rhade groaned. "Where"

"Engineering. He's working on more Nova bombs." Rhade hurried there and grabbed him from behind.

"Jeez, Boss. You scared the living shit out of me."

"No, your living shit was removed already. You don't have it anymore. And you're still recovering. So, you're not supposed to be working."

"But I-."

Rhade cut him off. "Enough. Come back with me." He jerked him along. "Do I have to lock you in your room like Beka"

"You wouldn't"

"I don't want to but it looks like I can't trust you. So."

"All right. All right. I"ll go and behave. Jeez, I'm only trying to do my job here."

"Which you will be allowed to much sooner if you behave and listen. You don't want a health relapse. Or maybe you do"

"No. Fine. I give." Harper allowed himself to be led back to his quarters. Which then aloowed Rhade to get back to what he was doing. The endless rounds of meetings and negotitations were wearing thin. But he kept at it because the stakes were too high. Plus he had something he hadn't had before. A glimmer of hope.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, I'm back with a new chapter. Did I ever say I don't own anything? Well, I don't. And in answer to a question that was asked, this fic is based upon the episode 'The Unconquerable Man' whereby Gaheris, not Dylan was frozen in time. It's one of the few S3 episodes I like, since I prefer Classic Andromeda before the show went in its 'new direction.' **rolls eyes**

Anyway, G Rhade and Beka are my backup ship since I saw that episode. I'm still very much a B/D shipper. Not the one we have now. He's not good enough for her. I realize that. I'm talking about the REAL Dylan, the one we started off with in S1.

Hope I haven't offended those of you who still like the show. If you want to stop reading because of this then that is your choice. But this is my opinion and I have a right to it.

If you're still with me, here's the story.

He was eating a late night snack when Rev came upon him. "Captain?"

Rhade nodded to the Magog. "Rev Bem. Sit down. I'm assuming you have something to say to me."

Rev sat. "It is about the dubious idea of keeping Beka against her will."

Rhade had to smile. "Oh, dubious. I like that. I actually agree."

"So, what keeps you on this course?"

"I don't know. What keeps your Divine on his course? Surely the direction he takes with lives isn't always welcome."

Rev gasped. "You are not the Divine. It is an entirely different thing."

"I know. But you see, I can take that idea of your Divine and use it to the advantage of both Beka and myself."

"I don't understand."

"Rev, I love her. She loves me but she wants to flee because she's afraid. I can't let her. I've got to do whatever I've got to do to convince her that it's best for her to remain here and build a life with me. And right now she hates me for it but in the end it'll be for the best. Isn't that how the Divine is supposed to work? Doing what is best in the end, regardless of how things are at the moment."

"There is one crucial difference. You are not the Divine. You have no way of knowing if you are really right."

Rhade nodded. "Technically, yes. However, something tells me that this is what I've got to do. Who knows? It could even be your Divine."

"Are you starting to believe?"

"Could be, could be. Then again, it could just be the arrogance that my species is now so famous for." There was an edge to his voice.

Rev got up. "All right. I see nothing I say will change your mind. I am going to go pray that things really do work out for the best. Whether you'd like for me to pray or not." With that he left.

"I never said I wouldn't like you to pray for us ", Rhade whispered after him.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry this chapter is so short. I know most of my chapters aren't that long but this is way short. Sorry. On the upside, I still have readers, even after I confessed that I like old Andromeda better than new. Yay!

"Battle plans. We have to have them in order to defeat the Worldship." The planetetary delegates gathered didn't say anything but they looked at him. Rhade continued. "Since nova bombs inflicted a good amount of damage, even if they didn't destroy the ship, I feel it's our best hope. Harper, step forward. Therefore, I've had my brilliant engineer make a good amount of them. If we combine our fleets and bomb it, the chances are good of success."

'You can't be a hundred per cent sure of that", one of them said. "And we know the rebuilding of the Commonwealth is still a main goal."

Rhade managed to keep his temper, although it wasn't easy. How stupid could these creatures be? "Yes, it is still a goal because a rebuilt Commonwealth is best for the universe. I truly believe that. However, we have to have a universe to have a Commonwealth. And the Magog are surely trying to make sure we don't have a universe. If you want to embrace death."

That seemed to shake them up, which pleased Rhade. Perhaps now they would listen.


	8. Chapter 8

Confronting the evil now. That's what they had to do. The fleets would need nova bombs. Lots of them. More then Harper could produce on his own. So, other engineers were enlisted. There were of course, risks. The Worldship had it's own defenses. It was considerably weakened but not impotent.

"Well, we are at our moment of truth now", Andromeda pointed out to him.

"Yes, we are. It's all or nothing. And if it's nothing, then at least we didn't just stand by and do nothing." Andromeda looked at him strangely. "What?"

"Nothing. Well, it's just that you almost reminded me of Captain Hunt for a minute there. That's something he would have said."

Rhade looked pained. "If only I hadn't--. Well, no sense in wallowing in regret."

"I'm sorry, Captain."

"No, it's O.K. I think it's good to remember Dylan at this time. I miss

him, even if you don't believe me and I'm honestly sorry about what I did."

"You may not believe this, Captain but I do believe you."

Rhade sighed. "If Rev is right and there is an afterlife and I'm lucky enough to get there and meet Dylan, do you think he'd forgive me? I don't think I would if I were in his place."

"Well, you're Neitzschean. That makes a difference, I think. As to your question, I couldn't say. I think he might but I don't know. I guess a lot would depend on how things have gone and what you have done since then to make up for it."

Rhade thought that over. "As if I could." However, what Andromeda said

did make sense. That's who Dylan was. Although, if they ever did meet

again, he knew he'd have a lot to answer for. Right now, though, it was

time to get ready for the battle.


	9. Chapter 9

They were as ready as they'd ever be. Rhade was taking them to

confront the Worldship before it had a chance to get to the Known Worlds. Of

course, if they lost then it wouldn't matter. Well--they just wouldn't

lose.

So they went in with the Andromeda leading the way, once more acting as

Flag-ship for the Commonwealth Fleet. And there it was. The ship with

twenty worlds all joined together, hanging in front of them. It looked

harmless--like some enormous molecular model escaped from a giant's

chemistry classroom.

"We're going in," Rhade announced.

The fleet launched their Nova bombs. Some hit their mark. Some were

intercepted by PSPs. Those sensors that weren't burned out entirely

were scrambled as sheets of radiation flooded local space. And of course,

the swarm ships had been launched.

"Break off and then regroup for another run. I want strike and run

tactics. Take out as many of the PSP turrets as you can, but make

yourselves moving targets. 'Thermopylae,' 'Tienamen,' and 'Santa Anna,'

target the support structure. Let's see if knocking a few worlds off their

strings doesn't distract them. Whatever you do, don't let those

swarmships breach your hull if you can avoid it." He was remembering their

last encounter. But Beka had been at his side then. 'Don't think about

that now. This is no time for distractions.' "Break off and

re-launch."

The fleet tried but some didn't make it. The sound of exploding ships

was not a pleasant thing to hear, but a narrow opening had been carved

through the Worldship's web of defense. 'Tienamen' hadn't survived the

run, but she'd accomplished that much for the fleet. "All right, let's

go back and do this."

At least the ship was more crippled now then it had been. Progress.

They would win this no matter what the cost. Rhade broadcast a message.

"Launch your Nova bombs at the ship. Launch your missiles at the swarm

ships. All remaining slipfighters, stay alert. We have to take them

down!"

Easier said then done. Dodging swarmships and PSPs was not fun.

Andromeda took her share of hits from all sides. The whole fleet was taking

a beating as swarmships rushed to fill the breach the 'Tienamen' had

died to create. The only comfort was that they were scoring hits on the

ship.

"If we could just get one clear shot at the core. It's been weakened

enough so that I believe it could work," Rhade was speculating. "One

solid strike would blow out that candle for good."

More explosions. More loss of life. More loss of the fleet. They

needed to get a clear shot. If they could just get someone close enough

the Andromeda could provide cover. And then it hit him. "Beka."

"What?" Andromeda wondered what her captain meant.

"Beka's the only pilot good enough to get close enough to take out that

sun. She can get a good clear shot and that'll be it. If anyone can

do it, she can."

"Yes, I believe she can. You'll have to let her out, though. Are you

sure you want to do that?"

Rhade knew that once he let her out, Beka would leave again. However,

this wasn't the time to think about that. It wasn't important,

compared to other things. "Yes, I'm sure. Have Harper load the Maru with

Nova bombs. Then let Beka know what's going on and what she has to do.


	10. Chapter 10

Beka, of course could hear the battle. She wasn't sure what was going on but she felt incredibly frustrated at being out of the loop. Then the doors to her quarters suddenly opened and Rhade was there.

"We need you now."

She was taken aback and just stared at him.

"The fleet. We're battling the Worldship and we're making some headway. But we really only have one chance to totally defeat it and that's you. I was going to have Andromeda tell you but I thought that you deserved to hear it from me."

"Hear what? Just tell me what the hell is going on. You're finally letting me out. Why?" Rhade quickly explained what was needed. Beka didn't hesitate. "I'm on it."

She ran to the Maru, which had already been prepped for launch. Beka then entered the fray. Deftly maneuvering between slip fighters and swarm ships she dodged missile fire and PSPs with skill, if not ease. She did not fire back, instead trusting in the coverage Andromeda was trying to provide. Her whole focus was on the core. Precision timing was everything. And she knew she'd only get one chance. Loading the Maru with Nova bombs was an exercise in optimism. She could only launch one at a time and if the first one failed to hit its mark--there would be no second chances. This was going to take more than skill; it was going to take nerve. Fortunately, Beka had both attributes in spades.

Explosions surrounded her. The Maru shook from the impact of PSPs and missile fire. But he was a good ship and he held his own. Closer and closer she flew. Beka knew where she had to aim. The target was almost in sight. There! Beka locked on and with a deft move of her hand she launched the bomb.

Not stopping to even make sure that it hit its target, Beka began her retreat. She was racing against time. "I've launched it. Pull back. Pull back."

Beka had to take it on faith that she'd hit her mark because there was no going back. She just had to trust her skills.

The re-call order was broadcast. Everyone was fleeing, although no one was sure of anything. If Beka had hit her mark, they were fleeing for their lives. If not, they were already dead.

And then suddenly, with a brilliant flash of light and a most deafening reverberation, the Worldship exploded. It took out swarm ships with it. Unfortunately, it also took out more of the fleet. But it was gone. It was over. Now all that was left to do was the final mopping up of whatever swarm ships were left. That would be easy, compared to what had just transpired.


	11. Chapter 11

Rhade watched as the mopping up began. There was so much battle debris that they were lucky to be able to see anything at all. But they could and Andromeda and the other remnants of the fleet were chasing down and destroying the remaining swarm ships as best they could.

Andromeda herself hadn't escaped unscathed. They hadn't had any hull breeches this time, so there was no Magog smorgasbord to clean up. However, there were holes in the inside of the ship from battle damage. The guts of the ship hung out like animal intestines. It would take some time to fix.

And of course, Command had taken the brunt of the damage. Although, there was debris everywhere, it seemed that the majority of it was in Command. It was as if Command had let out a Siren song and all the debris were unfortunate sailors. And there had been no Odysseus on board to prevent their doom.

Power to the ship was at less then half its capacity. It wasn't enough but they had to make do. The lights of the ship were dim and flickering, just barely brighter then the blue tinged battle lights. All in all, things were not as good as Rhade would have liked. Of course, that seemed to be the story of his life.

Most importantly to him, there was no sign of the Maru anywhere. What had happened? Beka had made it, hadn't she? Of course she had. Anything else was unthinkable.

Rhade watched as the mopping up began. There was so much battle debris that they were lucky to be able to see anything at all. But they could and Andromeda and the other remnants of the fleet were chasing down and destroying the remaining swarm ships as best they could.

Andromeda herself hadn't escaped unscathed. They hadn't had any hull breeches this time, so there was no Magog smorgasbord to clean up. However, there were holes in the inside of the ship from battle damage. The guts of the ship hung out like animal intestines. It would take some time to fix.

And of course, Command had taken the brunt of the damage. Although, there was debris everywhere, it seemed that the majority of it was in Command. It was as if Command had let out a Siren song and all the debris were unfortunate sailors. And there had been no Odysseus on board to prevent their doom.

Power to the ship was at less then half its capacity. It wasn't enough but they had to make do. The lights of the ship were dim and flickering, just barely brighter then the blue tinged battle lights. All in all, things were not as good as Rhade would have liked. Of course, that seemed to be the story of his life.

Most importantly to him, there was no sign of the Maru anywhere. What had happened? Beka had made it, hadn't she? Of course she had. Anything else was unthinkable.


	12. Chapter 12

"Sir."

Rhade turned around. "Why so formal, Harper?"

Harper shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems appropriate, somehow." He gestured out towards the continuing battle. "We won, right?"

"Yes, Harper, we did. Isn't it great?"

"You don't sound very happy."

How could he explain to Harper his fear that Beka wasn't going to come back? Or his fear that if she did, she'd leave again, this time never to return. He couldn't. He didn't even try. "I am. It's what I wanted after all. Now I think things will go according to plan. Of course, I have said that before." That last part was whispered.

Harper didn't say anything for a bit. Then, "Where's Beka? She's not locked up any longer I noticed."

"I don't know."

"What!"

Rhade explained what Beka had done. "And she's not back yet." Harper was panicking. "You don't think she's--."

"No! Definitely not. She's too good a pilot for that. We just have to wait a little longer for her to return, that's all. But she will. I know it." Harper wondered whom Rhade was trying to convince.


	13. Chapter 13

Blasts, shots followed by explosions. In this manner, Beka routed all the leftover swarm ships that had followed her. Not without damage, though. Currently she was stranded in space with a damaged slipstream drive and no way to send a distress signal. And she had no idea how far away from the Andromeda she now was.

"We won, didn't we? Of course we did. I'm just a little out of the loop right now." And she'd stay that way as long as her ship was damaged. It had to be fixed. "Damn, I wish Harper were here. It's going to take forever without him. But I'd best get to it."

Before heading off to the engines she stopped and stared out at the empty void of space. The debris from the swarm ships had already floated away. Beka was alone now in the vastness.

It didn't have to stay that way, though. Once she got the engines fixed and the comlink she would be able to find her way home. Home. Was the Andromeda home? She'd left it once already and had been going for twice. Here was a perfect opportunity to leave. They'd most likely think her killed if she never came back.

'But that wouldn't be fair to them now would it, Valentine? Not to Harper, Rev, Trance or even Andromeda herself. As for Gaheris…'

Beka wasn't sure. He'd done a crazy thing by locking her up. But his intentions…. She sighed as she walked back. There were things that should be said. Things that needed to be settled between the two of them. If that were even possible. Besides, really, none of them deserved to grieve over her death if she wasn't really dead. Not even Gaheris.

Beka knew she'd go back. It was the right thing to do. As for what she'd say to him—well—that was a bit tricky. She knew—if she were honest with herself—that she still loved him. But—and this was a big but—could it work? Gaheris was sure that it could. Hell, that was the whole reasoning behind keeping her prisoner. He wanted her to 'see the light'.

But Beka hadn't been so sure. It was one of the reasons she'd left. Plus the fact that she was more than slightly annoyed at him now. To put it mildly.

She reached the engine room and began work. At least the fact that this was going to take forever gave her time to ponder what to say to him when she saw him again. Because she would, she knew that now. At the very least she had to see him so that they could get things settled. One way or another. Beka smiled a grim smile.


	14. Chapter 14

Repairs weren't going well. And Beka Valentine was rapidly losing patience. Finally, she threw her nanowelder across the room. Hearing the clank gave her a sense of enormous satisfaction. If only temporarily. "O.K. I need a break."

She stomped out to the kitchen. There wasn't much in the way of foodstuffs but she did find some crackers and juice. She quickly downed the snack. "Right. I know I have to get the repairs done but damn—I wish Harper were here." She put her head down on the counter and sighed in frustration. "Did we even win? I don't know for sure. I'm guessing we did because if we didn't I'd probably be dead by now. Just more food for the Spirit of the Abyss. Still, it'd be nice to know for certain. Damn. I hate this. Just get a hold of yourself. It'll be all right. It has to be." 

She got up and checked the comm. Miraculously it still worked. She could try and hail someone. Should she? Some things were still working. Not the slipstream drive, unfortunately. Beka could send out a distress signal. Risky, though. It would be just her luck to be rescued by a mortal enemy. Better not. At least for now. Beka sighed and went back to the tedious repairs.

The Andromeda was hunting; hunting for its first officer. And one aboard was hunting for his love with fear and trepidation. Rhade wanted to find Beka alive and well. That went without saying. At the same time he knew things were over between them. She was going to pack her things and leave now no matter what he did or said. And he wasn't looking forward to it.

"Hey, boss, how far do you think we should go before we change direction?"

Rhade considered Harper's question. "Assuming that her slipstream drive was damaged and she was forced to travel in normal space like we are, I'd guess she still managed to make it pretty far. So we'll keep searching all the systems we can find here and then go out to desolate areas. Something tells me that Beka might be stranded in a remote corner."

Harper nodded. "That fits the profile of rotten Valentine luck. Until I came along, of course." 

Rhade grinned. "No credit for Rev?"

"Well, maybe a little. But he's got the backing of the Divine. With me, it's all in the Seamus Harper, himself. Remember, The Harper is good."

Rhade had to laugh. "I can see why Beka loves you so much. Thanks for reminding me why I like you too."


	15. Chapter 15

Beka was tired. She was taking another break from the repairs. She'd just eaten something but not nearly enough to satisfy her hunger. However, her supplies were limited and she had no idea how much longer she was going to be stranded here. Except it was probably going to be a lot longer. Repairs weren't coming along as fast as she would like them to.

"Harper must have spoiled you. Got too dependent on him keeping this ship in good running order. Now you're out of luck." She sighed and thought again about sending a distress signal. Not yet. The Maru was still too damaged and she would be at the mercy of any enemy around. That would not be good.

Beka sighed again and went to bed for the night. If she was sleeping she could forget about how hungry she was. Plus the rest would be good for her. It would help her tackle more of the tedious repairs.

hr

The search was agonizing. System after system and there was no sign of Beka. No clue as to where she might be. "What if she's hurt, huh?" Harper was not in the best of moods. "What if we don't find her in time and she dies? What if we never find her?"

Rhade, as much as he liked Harper, felt like killing him at the moment. "We will find her. She will be fine when we do. She was not hurt or killed. She's a great pilot and very resourceful. No matter how long it takes we will find her. We're just not finding her as fast as you'd like. No matter. It won't take us as long as you think, though. Look at all the systems we've covered in just the short time we've been looking. Now, we're spiraling out farther from the combat zone. Sooner or later, we will find her. I'd stake my life on it. And I say to you again—we will find her. Anything else?"

"No, sir," Harper whispered softly. He wanted to believe the other man, but it was hard after he'd lost so many of the people that mattered to him.

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Beka got up to face yet another day of tedious repair work. How many had there been now? She'd lost track. They all blurred together.

On the plus side she was alive and in pretty good shape, even if her ship was not. So she got up, ate a little food; again, not nearly enough but the rationing must be kept up. Should she turn on the distress beacon today? Well, the ship was still far from being in ideal condition. On the other hand, she could navigate it. Beka was a pragmatist. She knew if she didn't get help soon her supplies would run out before she could complete repairs. She wasn't Harper, after all. So on it went. "I suppose I might as well turn it on. With any good luck it should bring help to me and not an enemy." So she crossed her fingers and turned it on.

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The search for her, in the meanwhile, was continuing. It was tedious and depressing because there was no sign of Beka anywhere. Everyone was trying not to be discouraged. Rev was praying a lot. Trance concentrated on her plants. And Harper and Rhade manned Command in sullen silence. Andromeda constantly kept a frequency open in the hopes of catching any kind of signal Beka might be sending off.

They were now in a really remote area of space. There wasn't much out here but they had to search because this might be where Beka was stranded. So the Andromeda searched and the two men paced as they had been doing for what seemed like forever, ever since this had started.

Then Andromeda's hologram popped up. "Sir, we're getting a distress signal. It's very weak and I can't identify the ship or pinpoint where exactly it's coming from. I can only get a general direction."

Harper was ecstatic. "It's Beka, isn't it? It has to be." He was quivering with excitement, and grinning for the first time since the search began.

Rhade nodded. "I would tend to agree. Andromeda, head in the general direction of the signal. We'll keep a look out. We will find her. I knew we would and I was right. We've found her." His voice held steady, but there was an air of satisfaction and relief that he didn't bother to try and hide.

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Beka felt like banging her head against the wall. It was taking too damn long. At this rate, she'd starve to death before this ship was even halfway to good flying shape. "Harper, where are you when I need you?" she growled to the empty space where her engineer should be.

As if in answer the COM link started beeping like crazy. Beka had just done a patch job on it because there were other things that had priority. She went over and tried to see if she could make out whom it was that was trying to communicate with her. "Is that you, Beka?" it squawked. Then there was a burst of static and the voice broke up. But she knew that voice. It was Harper. The Andromeda was near.

"Guys, it's me. I'm here. I'm just kind of stuck at the moment. Can you pick me up?" Beka had no idea how much, if any of that they'd heard. It didn't matter. The important thing was that they were coming. She checked out the view from the cockpit window, wondering if she'd see them soon. Sure enough, coming up on her port side was the big, beautiful ship itself, the Andromeda. It was the ship she had, until very recently called home. And it was coming for her. This meant she'd be on it soon and back with everyone. And back with all that that meant.


	16. Chapter 16

Rhade was brooding in his office. Beka was back, only to leave again, he was sure. There was no way he could hold her. They'd fixed the Maru so there was nothing else holding her here. She'd take off again without as much as a good-bye. As a matter of fact, the two of them had barely spoken at all since she'd been rescued. Well he supposed that this personal upheaval was a small price to pay for the safety and freedom of the universe.

Beka had been a real hero in the battle. He was proud of her. If he'd had it to do over again he knew he'd do everything just exactly as he had. This did not make him any happier.

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Beka was in her quarters debating with herself. She and Rhade had hardly spoken at all since the Maru had been found and repaired. And they had to. She knew that. She just wasn't sure what she was going to say. She still had a lot of intense feelings about everything that had happened. To make matters worse, they were mixed feelings as well. But there was no chance to really vent them since he was spending all his time in either his office or his quarters. It looked like if they were ever to get anywhere it would have to be up to her to do it. Beka would have to force the issue. Typical. Wasn't it always the woman who wound up having to? Neitzschean men and human men weren't so different after all.

Beka had decided to go for it. She was now on her way to do it. Holo-Rommie popped up. "Beka, are you sure you want to do this now?"

"No. But it's got to be done. Things between us have to be settled once and for all."

"Does this mean you'll be leaving again?" There was a sad tone to her voice.

'I honestly don't know. I guess it'll depend on what happens between Gaheris and me"

"I see. I just have to tell you that I don't want you to leave; I'll miss you if you do."

"I'd miss you too, Andromeda. I'd miss everybody. I—well—let's just play it by ear and see what happens between us."

She had now reached his office and knocked. "Gaheris, it's me. We have to talk." The door opened. She stepped inside. Rhade briefly looked up at her and then down at his desk again.

"Look at me," she demanded. "I said we have to talk."

"No. What is there to talk about? You're leaving and that's all there is to it. Nothing is left to say."

"There's a lot left to say, damn it. And we're both going to say it. Starting with why the hell you locked me up in the first place."

"You know why."

"No. I really don't. And I'd really like to hear what you have to say on the subject. So talk."

He glared up at her. "Fine. You want to know why. I'll tell you why. I did it because I loved you, damn it. I couldn't stand to see you throwing away everything that we had because of stubborn pride. I couldn't stand to let you run away from the best thing that ever happened to either one of us. So I took matters into my own hands. I had to stop you somehow and this was the best way I could think of to do it. Obviously it didn't work; I clearly didn't mean as much to you as you do to me. I think you'd just better go now."

"I don't think so. You say you locked me up to keep me because if you let me out I'd leave, right?"

"Yes and I was right. You're going. So go now."

"I'm not done asking questions. Answer them and I might go. So if that was the reason, why then did you let me out at all?"

'That's obvious."

"It's really not."

"Damn it, Beka, you're going to make me say it aren't you? Fine. I'll give you your pound of flesh. But when I answer, then will you leave? It was the battle against the Magog World Ship. We needed you to help defeat it because you are the best. That fact was more important than us or what I wanted. We had to save civilization by any means necessary. Nothing else, not even us, was more important than that. So even though I knew I'd lose you because of it, I had to do what I had to do. I'm Nietzschean. It's my way. It's in my genes. Now that I've answered all your questions, can you finally leave now?"

Instead Beka sat down. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I still love you too, damn it!" She didn't sound too thrilled about it.

He stared at her in shock. "So what does this mean?"

"It means I can't just leave again. You were right about that. Wrong in your methods though. I think I might just have come back to you in time on my own. Why couldn't you just trust that?"

'You just said why. You only think you would have come back. You weren't sure. I couldn't take that chance. Nietzscheans don't gamble. I loved you too much to gamble on that. Except it turns out that I was forced to anyway. What irony." He took a breath. "But … you're staying?"

"Yeah, I'm staying. I must be crazy."

A small, satisfied smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth. "That means I won. And that means that we can –maybe –work this out?"

"Yes, it's possible. Not going to be easy of course."

"No. Nothing worth having is ever easy." He bolted out of his chair and planted a big kiss on her. "You'll never know how happy I am that you just said that."

"I think I have a clue." She said before returning his kiss.

The End.


End file.
